//------------------------------// // Chapter 1, Call of Adventure // Story: Fleeting Shadows // by SkyHighFlyer //------------------------------// As the sun rose into the sky early in the morning, the sole resident of one of Canterlot Castle's many tall and graceful towers was awoken, in what was certainly far removed from a graceful manner. Twilight Sparkle woke to the sound of loud and impatient knocking at the door to her room long before the rays of early morning light ever reached her eyes. Groaning at the unexpected and unwelcome awakening she was subjected to, Twilight let herself enjoy a few seconds more precious sleep before rolling herself out of bed to see what whoever was at the door wanted. Her mind still in a haze from being unexpectedly awoken from her sleep, she could think of little aside from her growing irritation as she made her way slowly to the door. Pulling the door open with far more force than necessary, Twilight glared at the royal guard who had interrupted her sleep with an expression that seemed to be daring his words to be a waste of her time. If he even noticed the deathly glare being directed at him he didn't react to it, his stoic expression never wavering. “Yes?” Twilight asked, her words carrying much of the same expression of impatience and annoyance as her eyes. Still the guard remained stoic. “Princess Celestia has requested your presence. She said to tell you that her request is not urgent, but should be seen to before court begins.” Twilight sighed. If the princess wanted to see her before court began for the morning, that meant that Twilight would need to meet with her over breakfast, which ended far earlier in the morning than she would ordinarily wake. “I see, thank you,” Twilight said, irritability never leaving her voice as she closed the door, again with far more force than necessary, and slowly wandered back to her bed. Her plans to return to sleep for another few hours ruined, she settled for whatever she could get and crawled back into bed. Rest never came to her however, and finally Twilight gave up on sleep altogether. Resolved that coffee would solve the worst of her fatigue, she pulled herself from the comfort of her bed and made her way out, slowing only to brush her mane briefly before leaving. Fortunately, the dining hall was only a short walk from Twilight's room, given the size of the castle. It took Twilight only a few minutes to make her way there. “Twilight,” Princess Celestia said as her student made her way into the room with a noticeably tired expression. “I'm surprised to see you so early. I was worried that you might oversleep and miss our meeting.” Twilight’s only response was to sit down and pour herself some coffee, avoiding making eye contact and waiting for her mentor to continue. “It's rather fortunate that you came when you did though,” Celestia continued, “had you slept much longer I would have had to wake you myself to stop you from missing your train.” “Train!” Twilight exclaimed in shock. Her eyes shot up to meet her mentor's, stricken with panic for a short moment. Princess Celestia met her student's eyes, reacting to a look as terrified as it was silently pleading with the same calm, serene smile Twilight was accustomed to seeing daily. The silence between them was deafening for a moment, extended for a moment as Princess Celestia took a sip of her tea, set the cup down, fixed Twilight with a serious look, and said, “I would imagine this comes as some surprise to you, as short notice as it is.” “You could say that,” Twilight said, trying her best to keep her breathing under control at the news of her sudden and unplanned journey. “I'm sorry about that,” Princess Celestia replied, “truthfully the matter was only brought to my attention late last night. I would like to give you more time to prepare yourself, but as it is this has already been put off longer than it should have.” “What do you mean?” Princess Celestia sighed. “The matter I'm referring to is a series of disappearances in a town called Spring Shades. It's a small village in the eastern woodlands, nestled into the mountains and far enough from civilization that it doesn't appear on most maps. As such, they have little need for a guard force. “The matter was first brought to the attention of the royal guard about a month ago. At the time the disappearances were written off as a simple case of missing ponies, something that the townsponies could handle themselves. Several more requests for assistance have been received since, each sounding more serious than the last, until finally I became aware of the matter last night.” “Alright,” Twilight replied, “But what does this have to do with me?” Celestia sighed, then took another sip of her tea. Finally, she set the cup down and said, “I'm sending you to investigate the disappearances.” “But why me? Why not an investigator from the guard?” Twilight asked. Celestia looked down at her and smiled. “Twilight, you've been under my tutelage for many years now. While you certainly aren't a guard, you are more competent than any investigator from the guard that I could send. I could just send a search party to look further into the matter, but I have a feeling they would just spend most of their time tripping over themselves.” After a moments pause, during which an awkward silence filled the hall, Twilight replied, “I guess that makes sense. When are we leaving?” Princess Celestia's smile faded. “Spike will be remaining behind on your journey. While I have no doubt that he would be helpful, he is still too young to journey so far from home. I'm sorry, but this journey isn't for him.” “Oh, alright... I can accept that,” Twilight said. The journey ahead of her, already daunting for a pony who was fearful of even leaving the castle, was quickly beginning to overwhelm her with dread. I took all of her effort to keep her breathing steady and her panic under control. While it was generally no secret that Twilight was afraid to leave the castle and fearful of the outside world, Princess Celestia was the only one knew how deep that fear ran. Twilight struggled to even leave the castle grounds, let alone leave the city. While she would never let it show, her impending journey terrified her far more than anything else that could have been discussed over their meeting. Princess Celestia smiled again. “I know this may seem harsh, especially on such short notice, but there are places to see beyond the walls of this castle. The world can be a terrifying place if you let it, but it's full of far too many wonders not to be explored.” Twilight took several deep, steady breaths. “I understand.” Though it was barely more than a whisper, it was enough to reassure Princess Celestia. Her smile grew, and in a voice both reassuring and haunting to Twilight's ears she said, “Your train is scheduled to leave at noon, so you should have plenty of time to get ready after breakfast.” ----- The few hours left in the morning felt like minutes as Twilight readied herself for the journey ahead of her. For the most part, her supplies for the journey consisted of various books on topic she felt may be relevant for the task ahead of her. The remaining space in her saddlebags were filled with various travel supplies, such as camping equipment and food rations. Because of its remote location, Spring Shades had no train lines to it. Twilight's train would stop her at the nearest town, from which she would have to travel the rest of the way on hoof. Though she should be able to reach the town before nightfall, it never hurts to be prepared, especially in wild, untamed regions such as the eastern woodlands, where wild storms and untamed weather are commonplace. It felt like so little time had passed since breakfast, but as noon approached Twilight stepped onto the train that would soon take her all the way out to the very edge of Equestria, a wild and untamed place, full of adventures to be had and undiscovered wonders to be explored. As Twilight Sparkle departed Canterlot, she idly wondered what she would find in Spring Shades, unaware of the adventures that awaited her.